Article Title

Author

Periodical Title

Modern Psychological Studies

Volume

16

Number

1

Page Numbers

pages 94-103

Department

Dept. of Psychology

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Date

2010

Abstract

The effect of situational cues on inducing and increasing state anxiety was investigated in this research experiment. 132 college students were asked to participate in the experiment. After completing a baseline stress questionnaire, a story was read out loud in three parts to the students about a party that involved underage drinking and other escalating stressors. After each part a short questionnaire was given to measure the impact on stress levels based on self-report. Previous research on the subject was conclusive in finding that presenting situational cues could influence state anxiety. An experiment involving positive and negative written scenarios evidenced a significant difference from prestress to poststress scores, reflecting that change had occurred due to the scenarios presented (Moberley, Moulds & Watkins, 2008). The research hypothesis predicted that the stress questionnaires presented after each part of the story would show an increase in state anxiety as compared with the baseline stress questionnaire taken by each participant. An additional dimension of the experiment included gender differences in induction of stress to see if perhaps one was more influenced by stressors than the other.